Mental health, education key state priorities

Published 3:32 pm, Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The annual State of the State address provides the governor a high-profile opportunity to use a few important tools from his leadership toolbox.

It offers the governor a platform from which he can update Connecticut residents on how things are going in the state. It affords him the chance, especially in an election year, to put a positive spin on all that has transpired during his administration. And it serves as a call to arms on desired legislative action.

Not surprisingly, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pulled all of those tools out of the box and employed them in his 2014 State of the State Address last Thursday.

In his 44-minute speech, Malloy offered updates and his perspective on a whole array of issues, ranging from the budget, jobs and energy efficiency to education, mental health treatment and school security.

The governor has not yet announced his anticipated run for re-election, but the tenor of his address at times made him sound very much like a candidate.

He recalled the bleak days prior to his election when the state ran up a $3.5 billion deficit, he praised the progress that has led to a $500 million surplus, and he proudly proclaimed, "We've come a long way."

Malloy rattled off a string of accomplishments, like an increase in jobs and home values and a decrease in unemployment and the crime rate. And he said he wants to give tax refunds to state residents and provide some new tax exemptions.

The three leading candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination -- 2010 nominee Tom Foley of Greenwich, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and state Sen. John McKinney of Fairfield -- predictably (and somewhat justifiably) pounced on some of the governor's offerings as election-year gimmicks and took issue with some of his budgetary math.

At the heart of Malloy's State of the State address, however, were serious proposals to expand pre-kindergarten and college participation among state residents, to dramatically upgrade mental health treatment in Connecticut, and to continue to improve school security -- the latter two in the wake of the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown that resulted in the deaths of 20 first-graders and six educators.

We strongly support those endeavors, and we know there is particular interest in this area in the mental health and school security issues in light of the horrific events of Dec. 14, 2012.

Mental illness has been deemed a contributing factor in most, if not all, of the mass shooting in recent years in the U.S. And earlier detection and destigmatization of mental illness, as well as greater access to mental health treatment, are considered important weapons in the battle against gun violence in this country.

We believe, as does Malloy, that the state has a responsibility to help fund improvements in school security, although we think the $10 million figure floated by the governor in his address falls short of the mark.

We strongly urge the Legislature to remember the Sandy Hook tragedy and follow through with strong action to help the mentally ill and improve school security.

There is one more Newtown-related matter that needs to be addressed by the state Legislature in the coming months, and that is the issue of privacy vs. secrecy in criminal cases. In the emotions of the moment, the Legislature last year passed an ill-advised law that eroded the state's landmark Freedom of Information Act and made it much easier for law enforcement agencies to hide information from the public.

That law needs to be repealed and the authority of the FOI Act fully restored.

In the end, Malloy's State of the State address has set the table for both the legislative agenda and the 2014 campaign for governor.

We know the gubernatorial hopefuls will focus more on the political aspects of the speech, but we hope the vast majority of members of the state Legislature will keep their eyes trained on the interests and needs of the residents of Connecticut.